MTV Africa Music Awards a no-show for a second consecutive year, Viacom Africa says it still believes in the awards show and is working to bring it back in a changed format.

Despite a promise last year that it would return in 2018 after an absence in 2017, the MTV Africa Music Awards will be a second consecutive no-show this year, with Viacom Africa telling TVwithThinus there won't be a MAMAs although it still believes in the local awards show and is still working on bringing it back in a changed format.

Last year two of Africa's biggest awards shows - CNN International and MultiChoice's prestigious one for African journalists and MTV Africa's one for musicians and achievers - both got scrapped for 2017.

Both CNN International and Viacom International Media Networks Africa (VIMN Africa) promised that the CNN MultiChoice African Journalist Awards and the MTV Africa Music Awards, that both usually took place during October, would be back in 2018.

In June this year CNN International and MultiChoice confirmed to TVwithThinus that the CNN MultiChoice African Journalist Awards won't actually be back and has been dumped, claiming it had become too big and expensive.

Last year Viacom Africa said that "at Viacom International Media Networks Africa we have been working to reinvent the MAMAs to create a deeper music experience that will be more immersive for our fans and partners in 2018".

Now Viacom Africa says the MTV Africa Music Awards won't be taking place this year either but that unlike the CNN MultiChoice African Journalist Awards, its award show for Africa isn't completely dead.

Viacom didn't respond to a question asking why the 2018 MTV Africa Music Awards isn't taking place and when this decision was taken, but said in response to a media enquiry that it continues to believe in the MTV Africa Music Awards and is working on bringing it back in a new format.

"The MAMAs continues to be a key differentiator for the brand and we still believe the show to be the epitome of all awards shows," says Alex Okosi, the executive vice president and managing director at VIMN Africa and BET International.

"We are currently working on various opportunities to bring the next MAMAs to market imminently in an evolved format."

"While the MAMAs will not feature in 2018, our focus continues to elevate great African talent on the continent with the recent nominees of Davido, Shekhinah, Nyashinski, Tiwa Savage, Distruction Boyz and Fally Ipupa at the upcoming 2018 MTV Europe Music Awards in November."

"Additionally we have just announced our broadcast partnership at the upcoming Global Citizen: Madiba 100 concert featuring the world’s most talented artists in Johannesburg in December," says Alex Okosi.

BBC Studios announces ITV Choice's Paddy McGuinness and Freddie Flintoff as replacement presenters as Matt LeBlanc readies his Top Gear exit.

The BBC has announced that the British entertainers Paddy McGuinness and Freddie Flintoff will be the new presenters replacing Matt LeBlanc who is readying his exit of the BBC Studios motoring magazine show, Top Gear.

The former Friends star will leave the show, broadcast in South Africa and Africa on BBC Brit (DStv 120), after the 26th season that will start filming later this year and that will be shown in early-2019.

Thereafter Paddy McGuinness and Freddie Flintoff will join Top Gear for the 27th season on BBC Brit that will be filmed and shown later in 2019. The two will join Chris Harris on the show going forward.

Rory Reid that is also leaving and will do the spin-off show, Extra Gear, will help to build out Top Gear's digital presence..

Paddy McGuinness appears in the Keith And Paddy Picture Show on ITV Choice (DStv 123) and the former cricket player Freddie Flintoff is the presenter of the game show Cannonball, also seen on ITV Choice.

"This is a thrilling manoeuvre from the Top Gear team and I'm relishing what this trio will deliver," says Patrick Holland, head of the BBC's BBC Two channel in a statement.

"Both Paddy and Freddie love their cars but more than that, they'll bring a new energy and competitive spirit to Top Gear. Chris Harris might have the greater car skills, but when it comes to the infamous Top Gear challenges, he's going to have to bring his A-game to have the beating of these two."

Paddy McGuinness says "Getting the Top Gear gig is a real honour and I'm thrilled the BBC have given me this opportunity. To be hosting a show I've watched and loved from being a small boy is beyond exciting".

"Top Gear fans worldwide are a passionate bunch and I consider myself one of them. Now let’s start up this Great British machine and see what it can do!"

Freddie Flintoff says "It's not often you have the chance to do both of your dream jobs, but I'm now lucky enough to say I will have. I've always been passionate about cars and I'm so excited to be joining the Top Gear team".

Star Wars creator George Lucas visits the set of Disney's first live-action drama series, The Mandalorian.

Jon Favreau/Instagram

The creator of Star Wars, George Lucas, this week visited the set of Disney's first live-action Star Wars drama series, The Mandalorian, that is currently in production with writer and executive producer Jon Favreau.

Filming recently started on The Mandalorian which is basically set after the film Return of the Jedi.

The Star Wars drama series that so far has no broadcasting date, will be produced for Disney's to-be-launched streaming service in America, but will likely be available through foreign distribution from The Walt Disney Company for international broadcasters.

It means that Lucasfilm's Star Wars series might become available to broadcaster's like M-Net for possible pick-up in countries where Disney's streaming service won't have a presence, in the way that Netflix picked up Star Trek: Discovery from CBS All Access for outside the United States.

This week George Lucas surprised the crew of The Mandalorian with a set visit, revealed by Jon Favreau who posted some images on his social media Instagram account. "Birthday Surprise," wrote Jon Favreau who celebrated his 52nd birthday.

Jon Favreau and George Lucas took the photos inside what looks like some kind of bar or cantina, with a photo including Dave Filoni who oversees all of Lucasfilm Animation projects, and who is the director of the first episode of The Mandalorian.

No casting has yet been announced for The Mandalorian.

Amazon Studios promotes James Farrell to head of international originals.

Amazon Studios has promoted James Farrell who was the head of content for international expansion to the newly-created position of head of international originals, effective immediately.

James Farrell in his newly-created position will lead all of Amazon's international original production divisions in Japan, India, Europe, Mexico, Brazil, as well as in all future Amazon hubs.

"We've had significant success in this area to date and, by streamlining our International Originals Team under one creative leader, we can strategically carry out our ambitious global vision and ensure our future growth,"says Jennifer Salke, the head of Amazon Studios, who James Farrell will now report to.

"Breakout ideas can come from creators all over the world and, by ramping up global production and making Amazon Studios the home for creators worldwide, the possibilities are endless in terms of what we can bring our Prime Video audience," Jennifer Salke says in a statement.

James Farrell in the statement says "The opportunity around the world to find top quality original content and deliver it to Amazon's global customer base is absolutely huge".

"Our goal is to search out the most unique voices throughout the world and then move quickly to help bring their visions to life."

"We're committed to finding the best stories, no matter their country of origin, and will be casting a wide net and moving very fast in the months and years ahead. There's nothing I enjoy more than talking with creators in their offices and homes around the world, and it's very exciting to be taking on this new role at Amazon Studios."

Current Amazon Studios international originals include Breathe and Inside Edge in India, Documental in Japan, Extrano Enemigo in Mexico and You Are Wanted in Germany.

China's StarTimes officially takes over Zambia's national broadcaster, ZNBC, through a shocking merger between Hantex and ZNBC as part of the country's DTT joint venture, Top Star.

China's pay-TV operator StarTimes has officially taken over Zambia's ZNBC through a shocking merger of the country's digital TV joint venture known as Top Star.

ZNBC and Hantex International Corporation Limited - controlled by Startimes International Holdings Limited - formed a joint venture for digital terrestrial television in Zambia, called Top Star.

ZNBC has a 40% share in Top Star while StarTimes as a private company holds 60% in the venture that is supposed to be about public broadcasting.

An application was made on 20 June 2018 for the merger of this joint venture, effectively fusing a crucial public interest aspect of Zambia's digital terrestrial television between ZNBC and Hantex.

Top Star controls distribution of Zambia's digital TV signals, in what critics and TV industry observers have slammed as a seemingly corrupt government move; an obtuse operation that has infuriated the country's local TV industry.

The shocking Chinese takeover is part of a larger plan by StarTimes, operating across Africa as a commercially driven private company, to "help" the national public broadcasters in 20 African countries with their switch from analogue to digital terrestrial television (DTT) - often in dubious government deals and transactions with little scrutiny and transparency.

These StarTimes and local government public broadcasting deals are usually funded and funneled through setting up so-called joint ventures" funded by loans to the local African governments and their broadcasters from the Export-Import Bank of China.

In another 25 African countries StarTimes says it is helping with a joint project from StarTimes and the Chinese government to bring satellite TV and DTT - but with StarTimes content - to "10 000 villages in Africa".

In Ghana the issue recently blew up and got massive media attention when Ghana's local independent broadcaster's association highlighted how Ghana's switch to DTT has been allegedly hijacked, and how untransparent and apparently corrupt it is.

In Zambia, shareholding in ZNBC would only be relinquished upon full payment of a massive loan of over $400 million, according to one of the conditions of the merger.

Zambia's CCPC said its not true that the $400 million Chinese loan would take 25 years to repay, and claims that it will be repaid in 13 years.

Zambia's Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) announced the merger, that effectively means that China has taken over the running of ZNBC.

In a statement from the CCPC and signed by CCPC board chairperson Kelvin Bwalya Fube, the CCPC said that it has "granted a conditional authorisation to the proposed merger between Zambia National Broadcasting Corporation (ZNBC) and Hantex International Holdings Limited (StarTimes International)".

In justifying granting the merger, Zambia's CCPC says "there is no law on digital migration", and that the Zambia government has obtained a loan for the implementation of DTT migration that has to be repaid.

The CCPC also states that "Top Star shall perform the functions of the public signal distributor, while ZNBC shall perform the subscriber management services and content provision services."

It's not clear why Zambia's national broadcaster is merging with a commercial, private pay-TV company, and it's not clear why a national, supposedly public broadcaster is performing "subscriber management services".


Chinese loan should be repaid in 13 years, not 25
Meanwhile ZNBC on Saturday said Zambia's national broadcaster remains owned by "citizens".

Mulenga Kapwepwe, ZNBC board chairperson, says the ZNBC can't be sold or taken over without the approval of Zambia's parliament.

Mulenga Kapwepwe says the ZNBC retains full operational and ownership autonomy.

"The statement by CCPC must be taken in context of ZNBC and StarTimes coming together to create a joint venture company called Topstar Communications Limited, says Mulenga Kapwepwe.

According to Mulenga Kapwepwe, the ZNBC has "similar joint ventures" with MultiChoice Africa with MultiChoice and the ZNBC that created MultiChoice Zambia Limited, GOtv Broadcasting Limited and GOtv Zambia.

In a press briefing later on Saturday Kelvin Bwalya Fube, said that ZNBC hasn't been sold.

"When the signal and the content are controlled by one independent person, in this case the JV Top Star, we realized that there was going to be dominance of position on the market by Top Star."

"So as a board, we decided to split [it so] that the signal and distribution of the signal will be done by the JV Top Star."

"The content on the other hand will be controlled by ZNBC. This to us also raised public interest or security issues on the basis that ZNBC from inception has already enjoyed this monopoly of controlling as a public broadcaster."

He said that "this loan repayment can be given back before the 25 years" and that "this loan from our calculations can be paid not later than 13 years".

War between the SABC and the South African Football Association over broadcasting rights escalate as Safa gets ready to ask parliament for permission to dump the SABC and not be forced to sell rights to the struggling public broadcaster.

The South African Football Association (Safa) is ramping up it fight with the SABC and now plans to go to parliament to request that it be allowed to dump the SABC when it comes to the sale of local Bafana Bafana football rights and be allowed to sell rights commercially for what it's really worth to broadcasters who are actually able to pay for it.

Safa is sick of the SABC and no longer wants to be compelled to sell broadcasting rights of the national men and women's football matches to the basically bankrupt South African public broadcaster that isn't able to pay for it or to pay what the matches are worth.

Safa wants to be allowed to sell its rights commercially to broadcasters able to pay what Safa can get for licensing rights, in line with what national rugby and cricket get for broadcasting rights.

Safa and the beleaguered SABC are in a growing standoff over the broadcasting rights of the Bafana Bafana and Banyana Banyana national soccer teams, with the minister of sports, Tokozile Xasa and the minister of communications, Nomvula Mokonyane, who lied earlier this year when they said they had intervened to settle problems between Safa and the SABC - but who have both since been completely silent on the matter.

The Sunday Times reports that Safa plans on going to parliament's portfolio committee on sports in the escalating war between Safa and the SABC.

The cash-strapped SABC has made an extremely lowball offer of only R10 million for the Safa broadcasting rights, while it reportedly paid R235 million for the Confederation of African Football (CAF) rights.

Safa demanded R200 million for the Bafana Bafana and Banyana Banyana broadcasting rights for the new season after it got R150 million previously for the season that ended in April, and which the SABC was extremely late with paying.

Safa said it was however willing to renew its deal with the SABC for soccer rights for R110 million per year, but even this was too much for the SABC.

Russell Paul, acting Safa CEO, called the situation with the SABC unable and unwilling to pay for Bafana broadcasting rights and what it's worth, "untenable".

"We said, guys, if it's a problem for the public broadcaster to be able to pay this, then remove us from this stipulation [of having to work with the SABC over sport of national interest] so that we can then exploit our rights commercially in the same manner as cricket and rugby," said Russell Paul.

South Africa's local national rugby rights are worth R670 million and the local national cricket rights are worth R200 million.

"In the last two discussions we have had with them - and this is with the top leadership of the SABC - the position was we do not have money and we want to be a responsible broadcaster and therefore we cannot spend money," Safa said.

The SABC said it would make a submission to parliament's portfolio committee on sport about the issue, if asked.

BREAKING. SABC investigating possible transgressions by SABC News staffers in its Polokwane newsroom in its coverage of the growing VBS Mutual Bank scandal.

The SABC says it is investigating possible lapses and transgressions by SABC and SABC News staffers and journalists in its Polokwane newsroom of the SABC's own editorial code in terms of the approach and coverage of the saga around the scandalous implosion of the VBS Mutual Bank (VBS).

The SABC in a statement on Saturday morning said "the manner in which the coverage of the VBS Mutual Bank story was handled by its newsroom in Polokwane" is now under investigation for possible breaches of its editorial code.

The SABC didn't specify what allegations and evidence led to the internal investigation, or when it would be concluded.

Shocking revelations continue to come to light about the large-scale looting and state capture at the VBS Mutual Bank in a growing scandal that continues to sweep up more politicians and political parties in the disastrous plundering that destroyed the bank through widespread looting schemes.

Last week the report "The Great Bank Heist" was released, compiled by advocate Terry Motau and Werksmans Attorneys, revealing looting of R1.8 billion from VBS Bank.

Last month reports also surfaced about SABC staffers allegedly censored and banned at its Phalaphala FM radio station from discussing the VBS Mutual Bank scandal.

"Should the investigation in Polokwane reveal evidence that the SABC News service's editorial principles of impartiality have been compromised, such violations will be dealt with decisively," says Neo Momodu, SABC spokesperson.

"Any selective coverage - perceived or real - poses a real danger to the editorial character of the SABC News brand and therefore any interference, external or internal in our editorial decision-making will not be tolerated."

The SABC said that it "remains committed to providing the South African public new content that is accurate and balanced, and in a way that is responsible, transparent and unrestrained".

Netflix abruptly cancels Marvel drama series, Luke Cage, after its second season over 'creative differences'.

Despite a widespread assumption and expectations that there would be a third season of Netflix's Marvel drama series Luke Cage, Netflix has abruptly decided to cancel Luke Cage, following closely on Netflix's cancellation of another of the Marvel series, Iron Fist, earlier this week.

"Unfortunately, Marvel's Luke Cage will not return for a third season," Netflix and Marvel announced in a statement.

"Everyone at Marvel Television and Netflix is grateful to the dedicated showrunner, writers, cast and crew who brought Harlem’s Hero to life for the past two seasons, and to all the fans who have supported the series."

Sources told the Hollywood trades that Netflix's cancellation is due to "creative differences" between what Netflix wanted for the show moving forward, and what the producers and writers wanted.

Mike Colter portrayed Luke Cage that was created by Cheo Hodari Coker who was also the showrunner. The second season of Luke Cage became available on Netflix 4 months ago in June.

Netflix's shocking cancellation of Luke Cage after two seasons leaves three remaining Marvel drama series on the streaming service: Daredevil, Jessica Jones (renewed for a third season in April), and The Punisher that will see a second season in 2019.

Netflix also unspooled The Defenders with all of the superheroes together for an 8-episode miniseries in August 2017.

Hectic Nine-9 presenter Anomsa Vantyi leaves SABC2 after 7 years; Mpho Sibeko joins e.tv soap Scandal!.

The Hectic Nine-9 presenter Anomsa Vantyi (right) is leaving SABC2's youth afternoon show Hectic Nine-9 after being seen on it for the past 7 years, while actor Mpho Sibeko has joined e.tv's weekday prime time soap Scandal!, making his first appearance on 9 November.

Anomsa Vantyi is leaving the Okuhle Media produced show, 7 years after he made his first appearance in 2011 when he started as the Eastern Cape regional presenter. 

After four years of representing Port Elizabeth, Anomsa Vantyi joined Hectic Nine-9 as a permanent studio presenter in Cape Town in February 2015.

Okuhle Media says Anomsa Vantyi "has chosen to pursue other adventures, and the Hectic Nine-9 family is excited to see where his next adventure takes him".

"Hectic Nine-9 wishes Anomsa success in his future endeavours and will cherish his 'Hectic' presence from his time on the daily youth variety show".

Meanwhile actor Mpho Sibeko has joined the Ochre Moving Pictures produced Scandal! on e.tv and will make his first appearance on 9 November.

Mpho Sibeko plays the role of Samson Ngema, a nephew of Mlungisi Ngema, and is a seemingly charming young pastor and prophet who is going to cause havoc. 

He previously appeared on e.tv'ssister soap Rhythm City, as well as e.tv's Gold Diggers telenovela.